The dawn of a new era in our exploration of the universe
Scientists finally detect gravitational waves and open a new window into the Universe. Join in on the conversation…
Date: Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Time: 18:00 for 18:30
Cost: R40 per person
Venue: Cape Town Science Centre, SAP Auditorium
Bookings: info@ctsc.org.za or 021 300 3200
Professor Jeff Murugan of the University of Cape Town will be talking about how this one particular prediction in Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity eluded some of the most ingenious detective work until now, and how the collective effort of a team of scientists from 16 different countries eventually verified the existence of gravitational waves. It is a story that started with the cataclysmic collision of two black holes some 1,2 billion light years away, discovered by a lone genius trying to understand the universe and completed by the 40 year-long heroic effort of scientists around the world. In telling this story, Prof. Murugan will elaborate on how our understanding of gravity has evolved from Newton to Einstein to the scientific frontiers of today and how this has shaped our very perception of the Universe we live in.
Prof. Jeff Murugan is currently an Associate Professor of Mathematical Physics in, and a deputy head of the Department of Mathematics & Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town. In 2012 he founded, and now heads, the Laboratory for Quantum Gravity & Strings (QGASLAB), a dynamic young research group that brings together researchers in string theory, quantum gravity and cosmology to try understand nature on its deepest levels. Among his accolades, he is the recipient of the bronze medal of the South African Mathematical Society, a founding member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS), and current president of the South African Gravity Society.During 2016, he will be a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He is married to noted South African cosmologist Prof. Amanda Weltman and they are the proud parents of two wonderful boys and two slightly above average dogs.
To listen to this insightful talk and join the discussion, reserve your seat, 021 300 3200 or info@ctsc.org.za. Entry fee is R40 and donations are welcome to sustain the Cape Town Science Centre, an NPO dedicated to the education and public awareness of science